Great thread.
I saw the post about an extended slide stop but does anyone know of a source for a slide stop with a smaller footprint? I've never had the usual BHP issues like hammer bite but I do tend to engage the slide stop while rounds are still the magazine when shooting thumbs forward.
The OEM one has about the smallest footprint I can recall. If you're having issues with it, you may want to consider judiciously carving away the portion that interferes with your thumb; that's the approach that Dave Sevigney used back in the day with his Glock extended slide stop which seemed to work pretty well for him with that gun (a Gen 3 G34). Actually, you could likely use that approach with either the OEM or RDIH component.
I usually rest my strong-side thumb on top of the left safety lever when shooting. You might want to try the RDIH slide stop; while it seems counter-intuitive to your goal, being an extended component and all that, the actual angled shape of the thumb pad might suffice for you better than the OEM one.
I'd discuss with a gunsmith for best results; you also might want to have an instructor take a hard look at your grip/grip technique (hey, if nothing else, blame the shooter!).
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 01-15-2020 at 12:52 PM.
Yesterday, the High Power was fired in a 6 stage IDPA match, with a final round count of 123 rounds expended.
Operationally, the High Power as currently equipped was excellent, save two observations:
On two separate occasions on different stages, I had not allowed the trigger to go fully forward as necessary for fully reset. My thoughts are:
1. I'm still building up muscle memory on trigger control; on a High Power, reset is consonant with "trigger fully forward..."
2. While the 2 coil Tactical trigger return spring is certainly crisp and efficient, there's a chance that the removal of the magazine safety plunger concurrently removed some ideal trigger return pressure, which is nice to have as insurance that the reset point is expeditiously reached. I'm chalking things up to a "My Bad" on action protocol fulfillment, but its' something I'll continue to watch carefully. The two reset hiccups do lend some credibility to the credence of the magazine safety assembly providing a secondary function in providing a positive force with which to effect trigger reset...I'm not planning on re-installing the assembly currently, but it's something I'll need to pay attention to in dry-fire to build up finger positioning with which to effect appropriate trigger reset muscle memory (or if that fails, to re-install the magazine safety assembly...)
The RHID grips, as suspected really came into their own on the Single-handed stages, where both strong hand and support hand skills needed to applied. The vestigial thumb shelf levers are excellent for this.
Additionally, the RDIH Extended Slide Stop significantly aids in expediting returning the slide from slide-lock back into battery; this component alone constitutes a significant product improvement for the High Power.
For a duty/carry holster, I've switched from my Galco Royal Guard IWB horsehide as primary to my Safariland 5181 OWB paddle, for one simple reason: Blocking rear safety levers. I've noticed on the Galco Royal Guard, if I brush or rub up against a hard vertical surface on my strong side, there's a good chance that the right hand safety lever will be dislodged to disengage the safety, while it can be re-applied when the High Power is still in the holster, a simpler solution is to move to a holster with higher protective wings built into the construction of the holster's sides-which the Safariland does. Unfortunately, the Mk III banana-shaped and splayed out safety levers are significantly protrusive that more effectively shielding them is a necessity when carrying the High Power; the Safariland holster's wings do an excellent job, is eminently comfortable to carry , and very effectively in shielding the safety levers.
My match score was pretty low; the majority of my time as an SO was spent in watching like a hawk and exceptionally group of out of town gamer-oriented shooters. Nice guys, but requiring pretty total engagement with for the entire match as they were seemingly devoted individually and collectively into rules arcania. So my High Power efforts seemed to represent more of a task saturated SO then a competitive shooter.... so arguably what I performed was more of a 123 round gun proficiency exam than a truly competitive performance. Ah well...
Spoiler alert: David Barnes of VCD grips has textured/stippled a set of RHIP grips for me; they're enroute, and I look forward to using them-I'll keep my efforts, results, and suggestions posted here. http://www.vcdgrips.com/
Dave Barnes and Mark Allen, thanks for your support-Mark/Slav for providing me with a second set of the grips for the test, and Dave, for contributing your work. When they arrive, I'll post images.
Best, JonInWA
Last edited by JonInWA; 01-26-2020 at 07:12 PM.
You probably know this and/or it may have been mentioned already but a decent 'smith will be able to shorten and "crisp up" the reset. At least to a certain extent.Originally Posted by JonInWA
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Yep, as I recall, there are about 3 techniques:
1. Reposition the sear assembly/sear lever (major work/expense);
2. Retain the magazine safety, but judiciously re-tailor the magazine safety's plunger spring/trigger return spring;
3. Remove the magazine safety assembly, but go to a stronger 2-coil trigger return spring-that's the route I'm currently on.
(and I realize that #2 and #3 could also be applied to #1, too...)
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 01-26-2020 at 07:25 PM.
Once I move upstream from 9mm, control of recoil forces becomes more essential-especially with .40 and .45 ACP. While .40 is hardly uncontrollable, it is significantly more difficult to harness and circumvent (or use beneficially to assist in moving the gun). It's not just a higher pressure cartridge, it's pressure spike occurs very quickly upon ignition. More lackadaisical or somewhat slipshod techniques that you might be able to get away with with 9mm becomes glaringly obvious with .40. The .40 that I use is 180 grain across the board; my carry cartridges are Federal HST, Remington Golden Sabre and Speer Gold Dot; practice/competition/range cartridge is Sellier & Bellot (with American Eagle as a fall-back if my FFL can't get me the S&B). THe S&B is clean and accurate, but tends to be on the spicy side-which is just fine with me, as it makes for an excellent analog cartridge for my carry loads.
So-my Mk III High Power is .40, so by definition I'm challenging myself intrinsically a bit, as I got a higher-power/quick pressure spiking recoil impulse to deal with However, I really like how the Hgh Power handles the .40, and the balance is excellent, particularly useful in single-handed shooting in particular. Since I'm not making things easier with my cartridge choices, I need to focus on both technique and some specific hardware choices that can materially assist me.
This falls into two items of kit: First the BH Spring Solutions Buffering Recoil Guide Rod, and second (and third), the RDIH polymer fingergroove grip-and then the RDIH grip subject to treatment by David Barnes of VCD Grips.
Today I shot a six stage ASI match; ASI (Action Shooting International) is kind of a Pacific NW "IDPA Light," with some of the leading Pacific NW IDPA shooters creating a new venue, both to provide a introduction to the action shooting sports in a less intensive and (less initially intimidating) than IDPA or USPSA, as well as an offshoot from some frustration with the incessant and sometimes arcane rules changes IDPA ventured upon several years ago. Here's a link, for those interested: https://asi-usa.org/
It was a great venue where it was easier for me to concentrate on results and technique more than getting caught up in stage strategy.
The VCD's RDIH Grips:
I became familiar with VCD Grips, as I suspect many of us here did from Todd's development and testing of of his Jason Burton 1911 Commander, which is archived at Pistol-Training.com. He discussed them at several points, but his comments here nicely encapsulate them: http://pistol-training.com/archives/7609
Due to Todd's comments, I several year ago got 2 sets from David Barnes; one for my SIGARMS GSR XO, and one for My Nighthawk Custom Talon II, and was (and remain) extremely impressed-my shooting is nowhere near Todd's skill level (but I can equal him on sarcasm and snarkiness, as we enjoyed on our email and p-f interplay), but I clearly achieved highly beneficial results with the VCD grips. A slight downside to them is that as they come, the stipping craters have fairly sharp aggressive edgs which can wreak havoc on sweaters and similar if used as a concealment garment, but they can be lightly sanded to achieve more fabric-friendly surfacing. Here's a link to VCD: http://www.vcdgrips.com/
The RDIH grips I discussed earlier are excellent, but I thought that they could be improved upon. Discussing first with David Barnes of VCD, and then with Mark Allen of BH SS, Mark provided another set of the RDIH's for David to apply the VCD texturing on; we all agreed that it was a "nothing ventured, nothing gained" sort of thing, with the possibility that the RDIH polymer, contours and thicknesses might or might not be susceptible and amenable to the VCD treatment. Essentially, we wanted to preserve the excellent pronounced fingergrooves and vestigial thumb strakes that are the essential stabilizing features of the grips, but thinking that the application of VCD texturing would provide increased grippiness and stability.
The original RDIH grip:
The RDIH With VCD Treatment:
Short version: They work superbly, and provided increased control and stability, but still facilitating grip acquisition and finger positioning/repositioning as needed without hindrance. They provide a nice co-existing support component to the BH SS Buffering Guide Rod, working nicely in conjunction.
And they're an excellent value; the RDIH itself is only $23, and David Barnes will apply his treatment to a set of the RDI grips foe $29, including shipping back to you. So basically, for less than $55, you're getting an excellent grip, one that I personally consider superior to Hogue's rubber fingergroove model, and easily equal to, if not exceeding the performance of G10 grips available for the High Power, most of which are around the $80 price point. One caveat: The RDIH/VCD'd grips are all about performance, with aesthetics taking a far second seat. If you're looking for a barbecue gun-worthy set of knock 'em dead appearing grips, these aren't likely to raise your interest; however for increasing High Power shooting performance, I think they're a huge value-especially in conjunction with the BH SS improved buffering shock-absorber-ish guide rod-both just flat-out work.
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 02-08-2020 at 09:05 PM.
Here are a couple more images of the "VCD'd" RDIH grips:
David Barnes' attention to detail in applying his treatment is exemplified in how the treatment wraps around to the back of the grips, providing increased effective grip grasping surface areas:
Basically, the combination of the BH Spring Solutions' Dual Stage Buffering Recoil Spring Guide https://bhspringsolutions.com/index....-rod-assembly/
and the RDIH grips, particularly with the VCD treatment significantly tame the .40 recoil impulse. I was able to fire 2 and 3 shot groups quickly in a very controlled fashion, with tight groups on target.
As I mentioned before, I chose the "medium" strength BH SS spring option for my guide rod, and have been pleased with the choice, and the increased spring longevity inherent to that spring.
I did experience one failure of the trigger to reset yesterday-my bad, I failed to let it go far enough forward, and then short-stroking; the problem was immediately resolved. Increased dry-fire is building up finger positioning muscle memory to eliminate this.
Best, Jon
Are sure it's the button portion of the slide stop.that is giving you the inadvertent engagement? When I transitioned to a thumbs forward grip, my HP would lock back on virtually every shot. Turned out it was the front of the slide stop (the part forward of the pin) that support hand thumb was holding down. This a single shot followed by slide lock. I was a pretty dedicated Browning man at the time so I bought a slew of slide stops and bobbed everything forward of the pin on all of them. Another alternative is a slide stop from an FEG PJK-9HP. The FEG doesn't have the large cut out in the slide so it doesn't need the "wart" on the front of the slide stop.
I have a spare slide stop that is trimmed if you'd like to try it. Just message me.
Would you mind posting a pic? I'm curious to see how it was trimmed.
Devel trimmed a slide stop to closely duplicate a 1911 part. I like the style but I don't like the open and exposed notch in the slide. Does it hurt anything? Probably not but I always liked the clean and enclosed look of the original.
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Wish my Browning was half as attractive as the Devel in your post! The open notch poses no problem other than cosmetics.
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